Ukraine has vocally opposed the construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and is considering taking Russia to an arbitration court to demand billions in compensation if it loses its transit revenues, Poland’s niezalezna.pl website has reported, citing German daily Tagesspiegel.

The German newspaper has quoted Yuriy Vitrenko, chief commercial officer at the state-owned Naftogaz of Ukraine energy company, as saying that Ukraine might go to an arbitration court in Stockholm against Russian gas giant Gazprom, which is involved in the construction of Nord Stream 2, niezalezna.pl reported.

Ukraine could demand EUR 12 billion in compensation, according to niezalezna.pl.

Vitrenko voiced skepticism over a declaration recently made by German Chancellor Angela Merkel that she would work to provide Ukraine with guarantees of maintaining its status as a gas transit country, niezalezna.pl reported, citing Tagesspiegel.

Meanwhile, several dozen MEPs from different European countries have appealed to Germany’s Merkel to halt the controversial Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline project.

The 1,200-kilometre Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which is scheduled for completion in 2019, is expected to supply around 55 billion cubic metres of natural gas a year from Russia to Germany under the Baltic Sea, circumventing Poland, the Baltic states and Ukraine. ■